Originally posted by Fashion Wire Daily Paris August 1@ 2003
Isabel Marant's Shining Stars
By Karl Treacy
French designer Isabel Marant has two new arrivals to celebrate at the moment. One is a baby boy named Tal, born to her and partner Jerome Dreyfuss last Sunday, and the other is that of her second line, called Etoile, the French for star, in stores.
While Tal may be the bigger star in his mother's eyes for the time being -- when all of France seems to be disappearing for the month -- Etoile, which up to now formed only a part of the main collection, will surely be more self-sufficient.
The line, which in its earlier form had started to outsell the main line it was supposed to supplement, is a selection of individual pieces that maintain a strong fashion edge while fitting into a very affordable and wearable bracket.
Priced about 30 percent cheaper than the principal line, Etoile features dependable basics re-worked with fabric effects and discreet detailing. A round-neck mauve wool sweater with a trompe l'oeil bow is 120 euros, a printed cotton voile blouse and a pale pink jersey wrapped cardigan are both 115 euros, and stretch velvet two-pocket pants are 140 euros.
Founded in 1989, the Isabel Marant label has around 350 points of sale worldwide, with 237 stocking Etoile for fall. Japan and France comprise the biggest markets for Isabel Marant, with company director Sophie Durufle admitting that in the U.S. -- where Etoile is retailing in such stores such as Butter and Intermix in New York, Madison in LA and Pixie & Ivy in Houston -- "the label is currently not stocked very widely."
Marant now has two self-owned boutiques, both located in Paris -- one in the Bastille area and the other in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Durufle said that while it was certainly Marant's intention to open more boutiques at some stage in the future: "It is not so easy when you have a self-financed company. We would need a partner to invest for that to happen, but then we're not really looking for one. We prefer to take everything nice and slowly and carefully."
I can't wait to see the rest of it. 
